Kazakhstan: In the second half of 2025, tank cars for LPG and oil products transportation are expected to be certified for serial production at the Atyrau Wagon Factory (AWF), part of the TEXOL Group.
The manufacturer has recently signed a contract with Italian Faccin for the delivery of the necessary equipment of the Boldrini brand. So far, tank cars have not been produced in Kazakhstan.
The equipment is procured by AWF to master manufacturing of the tank, a key part of this type of wagons. As ROLLINGSTOCK knew from TEXOL’s press service, the contract with Faccin provides for the supply of the dishing press and the flanging machine, a set of equipment to produce tank heads. “The technology, which is going to be applied, is beneficial regarding the possibility to handle tank heads of various diameters without additional fittings, in contrast to the hot forming technology”, the company’s representatives noted.
AWF will realise production of tank cars of its own design, starting from wagons with an axle load of 23.5 tf and aiming to mastering 25 tf articulated tank cars. The latter were previously produced under the project with United Wagon Company (UWC, a large Russian manufacturer). These are the 15-9541-01 articulated LPG tank cars, of which over 750 are in TEXOL’s fleet now.
The Kazakh manufacturer plans to produce up to 300 tank cars in 2026 and 1,000 such wagons in 2027. According to TEXOL, the AWF tank cars will have a number of advantages over the current fleet, specifically an increased tank capacity, an optimal balance between the tare weight and payload, as well as improved operational characteristics in terms of maintenance and repair.
Freight car production was launched in Atyrau last year. In late 2024, the plant received the manufacturer’s mark and certificates for serial production of four-axle gondola cars, container flatcars, and bogies. A total of 8,000 wagons per year are expected to be produced at AWF by 2027. The initial investments into the car-manufacturing project amount to KZT 76 bln ($153 mln). AWF develops as part of the Texol Industrial Group’s cluster in Atyrau, which also includes engineering and test centres, as well as an upcoming workshop for rail wheelset maintenance, which will focus on handling rough axles and producing new wheelsets.
